Even the great masters of science fiction paid tribute to the people who influenced them. Today, Letters of Note has a beautiful 1976 letter that Ray Bradbury wrote — by hand — to Robert Heinlein.

It reads, in its entirety:

DEAR BOB:

YOUR INFLUENCE ON US ALL, FROM 1939 ON, CANNOT BE MEASURED. I CAN ONLY SAY I REMEMBER, WARMLY, YOUR MANY KINDNESSES TO ME WHEN I WAS 19–20–21 YEARS OLD. THAT YOUNG MAN BASKED IN YOUR LIGHT AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE GRATEFUL FOR THE HELP YOU OFFERED WHEN I WAS SO POOR & NEEDFUL! YOURS IN THAT MEMORY - RAY BRADBURY